All posts tagged Dwight Howard

I’m writing this from Los Angeles, in the midst of a swirling Twitterstorm. It’s official: Jeremy Lin is now a Laker.

As an Asian American fan, there’s a lot to love about this move.

First, it gets Jeremy Lin out of Houston. Things started off great for Lin in H-town, which welcomed him with open arms as they had previously for Lin’s hero, Chinese superstar Yao Ming. But after Rockets GM Daryl Morey traded for bearded ballhog James Harden, and then opened up his pockets to sign tower of power Dwight Howard, it was clear there wasn’t enough space in Space City for Lin to launch. Remanded to the bench, he alternated between flashes of nostalgic brilliance and stretches of flat or erratic play.

To Lin’s credit, many aspects of his game improved over his years in Houston — his shooting, especially from beyond the three-point arc, and his defense.

But with an expensive, backloaded year left on his three-year deal and big-name free agents poised to come onto the market, it soon became obvious that the Rockets were aiming to unload him, no more so than when, in a misguided attempt to recruit Carmelo Anthony, the team plastered their arena with murals showing the Knicks superstar wearing Lin’s #7 uniform. (Lin tweeted that he understandably felt “disrespected” by the gesture, which the Rockets did without informing him in advance; Morey responded by saying that it wasn’t personal. “It’s just math,” he said. “My job is every day figure out how to win. Sometimes it creates challenging situations.”) Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.